Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Live together, Die alone


Everyday, as I sit down to my computer to do my assigned homework for the day, I do the same exact things: I turn on my music on random and I get a big glass of water from the tap in my kitchen. The water from the tap is decent. It is not as good as the bottled water that I have next to my bed, but you are probably saying, "Water doesn't even have a taste." Well, you're right. However, water is great! It is clean, refreshing, and when I am feeling sick, like now, it always satisfies that scratchy throat feeling (you know what I'm talking about).

Photograph by Sabastiao Salgado
I introduce this blog by speaking of my faithful cup of H2O at my side to stress how tiny of a thing it is to the American populous. I do not believe that there is one person reading this that has ever had to face the trial of serious life-threatening drought, like many in our world have. Here, our documentary photographer, Salgado,steals the image of innocence of a child from Zaire. As a membervof a 1994 refugee camp in Zaire, this child walks miles and miles when he desires that same refreshing feeling that I enjoy, here as I complete my homework (Salgado). He walks miles. I am too lazy to go for a refill in the kitchen. It is ridiculous how blessed I am.

Okay, so here are the facts. We are facing, as a global society, some serious catastrophic uneasiness, to put it lightly. According to Eric deCarbonnel of the Centre for Research of Globalization, "The countries that make up two thirds of the world's agricultural output are experiencing drought conditions. Whether you watch a video on drought in China, Australia, Africa, South America, or the US , the scene will be the same: misery, ruined crop, and dying cattle." This is a global issue. We are quickly approaching a time when resources, in general, will be scarce for not just the poor, but also the prosperous. We are approaching a time when countries will have to come together for the benefit of the world to solve the problems facing us. I show the simple issue of drought and starvation, but the issues that afflict the human race are much larger and more numerous. War will certainly erupt, if humans do not work together. We must learn to live together or we will die alone.

Works Cited




2 comments:

  1. This is a true statement. I love the way you described our human predicament. It is necessary for not only a nation, but our world as a whole to work together to survive. Just as an individual is responsible for their neighbor's wellness; a country is also obligated to help one another's health. A majority of the world's population struggles with the basic necessities of life(food and water); however, I have not had to stress about the next meal or the quality of my water. My mind is slowly beginning to come to the understanding of what I always thought was the minority, is in actuality the majority.

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  2. Very interesting introduction, I really enjoyed how you focus on something so essential for life- water. When I saw this photo, I kept wondering how often do they make this trek for water? Daily? Weekly? I drink so much water every day and like you, I only have to walk a few feet to obtain a glassful. It's humbling to see this photo and reflect on how blessed we are to have clean water readily available for us. I wonder how long will it be until all other countries have this same privilege, of having large water sources nearby.

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